Page 40 of Burned

“Are you okay?” he repeats. “I felt your panic.”

Rubbing the back of my neck, I nod. “I had that strange feeling of being watched. You know what I mean?”

He nods, his jaw set. “I had the same feeling. I looked around though and found nothing.”

The news settles me somewhat. Dragons can see and sense far more than humans can. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. Forgive me, but I went to see the mage on my own. I woke with an urgent need to seek her counsel, and I knew I could fly there faster.”

I wasn’t expecting that, but my reaction to it is even more unexpected. Disappointment bounces around my chest, settling like a stone in my stomach. Did I want to see the mage or did I just want…? The answer hits me like a ton of bricks.

I wanted to see Lord in his dragon form again. Maybe even climb on his back and ride through the night skies. Fuck, some dragon hunter I am.

His breath catches as his eyes soften. “I apologize. I should have offered to take you with me. It was a sudden impulse.”

“Because you want to be done with me?” My own question surprises me, but before I can backtrack, Lord surges forward, stopping just inches from my face.

“No. That’s not it.” He tangles his fingers gently through my beard. “I enjoy your company. I thought, perhaps, you would like the antidote sooner than later.”

Do I? I should. I definitely should.

“Did you get it?”

He nods, but I can see the sadness clouding his eyes. He blinks and they shift to orange, the black slits dilating as his dragon gazes at me.

“I did, yes. It’s not too complicated, though I don’t believe it will be pleasant to rid your body of the medicine I put into it.”

Is that why he’s sad?

“It will sever the connection and then you can go back to your life as it was before you met me.”

My chest tightens again, my stomach twisting unpleasantly. Lord’s dragon is still watching me, as if waiting for some kind of reaction. I can’t find words, so instead, I step forward, closing the distance between us.

Immediately, he relaxes, crushing his mouth to mine. His kiss is hot as fire, smoky and sweet at the same time as his hands roam across my back. In his nakedness, it’s not hard to feel his excitement against my thigh.

I’m tempted to fall to my knees and worship his glorious cock, but the desire to just hold him is stronger. As the kiss slows, he presses his forehead to mine, the unspoken sadness about what we are and what we can never have flowing between us.

“We should pack up and get back to the plane,” he whispers. “I’ll tell you about the antidote on the flight home.” He clears his throat, noticing his mistake at the same time I do. “Back tomyhome. You’ll need to stay just a little longer so I can have the potion made, then I’ll lend you my jet to get back to your family.”

The resignation in his voice stings, but I know he’s right. We can’t have this. “Yeah. Okay.”

Lord lingers, brushing his lips across my cheek and inhaling as he reaches the crook of my neck. My body tingles with the need to keep him this close, but I hold back. If I touch him again, we won’t be leaving anytime soon.

He backs away, but before he can get too far, I reach out and grab his wrist. “Thank you.”

“For?”

A tumble of words threaten to burst from my lips.For making me feel wanted, safe, seen. For recognizing me as a separate person from my family. For allowing me to exist in a world where death and murder isn’t an expectation, at least for a little while.

“For everything. I know it’s been hard on you.”

“No, it hasn’t. It’s been…” Different emotions flicker across his face until he settles on a happy smile. “A pleasure.”

I release his wrist and the two of us set about packing up the camp, but the weight of what’s next clings to us. His dragon doesn’t want us to do this, that much is clear. What’s less clear is what the man behind the dragon wants, and beyond that, what the fuck do I want?

Does it even matter? Our families would destroy each other, and the thought of anyone, even my own brothers, hurting Lord leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

Lord tilts his head up to the sky, scanning the wilderness around us.

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